Whether it was a question of face, or simply the shrewd strategic retreat of a retired general, Myanmar President Thein Sein's decision to forgo his invitation to speak in Bangkok last week remains a lost opportunity.
Aung San Suu Kyi's appearance at the World Economic Forum was always going to dominate proceedings; there is no hotter star in the global political firmament now. Her historic trip to Bangkok was a mere forerunner to her European trip later this month that will see her speak to both houses of the British Parliament and then, after 21 years, finally collect her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.
Yet, while Thein Sein is never going to match that charisma, the world still wants to hear from him. After months of unprecedented - and unforeseen - change in one of its most isolated nations, there are questions only he can answer.
Across the region, businessmen, analysts, diplomats and politicians are pondering the same issues - just how secure are the reforms he has unleashed? Is the feared military marching in step with social and democratic change? What role does he foresee for Suu Kyi, potentially his greatest international asset? And, most importantly, what are his further reform and investment priorities?
Suu Kyi, by comparison, is a moral force who appeals to our highest motives - the value of freedom, tolerance and equality. No one has ever accused her of being a technocrat. When pushed for answers beyond her calls for ethical investment or warnings of the weakness of Myanmar's court system, she sounds, at best, a work in progress and, at worst, decidedly flaky.
When a reporter asked her last week what sectors she believed should be priorities for foreign investment, she appeared to skip the question. She returned a few minutes later with a statement that she did have some ideas, but didn't want to say what they were. She had earlier urged investors to be mindful of the need to improve workers' livelihoods.